Two peas in a pod....

Well maybe not exactly a pod, but a pot, not just one pot, but two.   A couple or maybe three weeks ago, Wegmans' had put the smoked spiral hams on sale, and we had purchased two,  Last week I made the ham, and then split pea soup with green peas.  Today, as I write this at 10:10 am, I have the second ham in the oven.  Last night before we went out, I put up both green peas and yellow peas, individually, to soak overnight.  So now they are chillin atop a clean stove soaking in their respective bean pots.  I am going to start doing the veggies in a bit.

Yesterday, we tackled "The Cleaning of the Stove", not it is not as easy as it sounds, it truly is a job and half.  Firstly, the grates have to be removed, they are cast iron with open burners, there are six of them and a grill.  all surrounded by stainless.  The grates get kind of scrubbed, along with the cast iron cradles (I don't know what they are called), during the good weather they get cleaned with the power washer, but now in the dead of winter just a good scrub with a stiff brush and water from the utility sink in the basement.  The stainless back guard, is a major, major catcher of everything, splashes, splatters, and all.  We took the shelf that was connected to the back guard down, cause all it did was get dirty, and of course, it was horizontal, so I put stuff on it.  The best cleaner for the stainless, hands down, is 3M Stainless Cleaner and Polish.  Every other cleaner pales, does not work, just smears the crap.  Problem is that it is hard to find.   I have less than half of a can, I did find it online, but I have to buy a case of 12 at $20.00 each.  It is a little steep.  I use it to clean the back guard, the hood inside & out, the fridge, freezer drawers, and microwave.  Cleaning the hood is a days affair.  It wasn't so bad, so we decided to wait on the inside and just do the outside.  It was a quick job.  My sister says to put furniture polish on the stainless, but I don't have any.  I use a wood cleaner & conditioner, I don't think that is a polish.  When I pull out the crumb trays, under the burners and grill,  it makes me think of the stove we had when we were small.  I loved those little drawers, and I can't say why.  I smile it is a good memory.....

Andrew was kept shaking his head, not happy with the job that he did.  I kept telling him that it would never again look like it did when we got it.  Finally after much cajoling, he said we use it every day, so of course, it will look like it is used, as it is supposed to.  The stainless is perfectly clean, the cast looks good.  So we are very happy, happy, happy.....

I started the two Split Pea soup....the only think that I am worried about is that it won't be smokey & porky enough.  I put the same amounts of carrots, celery, split peas, bay leaves, parsley, smoked sea salt, smoked chipolte pepper flakes, pepper, and summer savory(from Nova Scotia).  I put the green peas in the Le Creuset, yellow peas in the Staub.  I simply love my cocottes.  I am so very glad to be fortunate that I have both.  I think that each has it's fine points.  I just wish that I could be able to get past having to have blue, I am so partial to blue that it is sometimes ridiculous.  I like the Le Creuset Indigo Blue better than the Cobalt, that in my opinion is nowhere near cobalt, not even on a good day.  If I could I would part with the Cobalt pieces I have and exchange them for the Indigo.  I do, however, like the Coastal Blue.  Now that is a very pretty color.  In Staub I have the Sapphire Blue, I have seen the Marin Blue, and yes of course, I could have that too.  Both Le Creuset and Staub have many other great colors, I like the yellows that are available from Le Creuset, and even the greens from both are great, I don't like the beige or muted, muddly colors.  I wanted to try the Staub Graphite but I chickened out at the last moment.  I am such a weenie.......

We have started to replace our Calphalon, they are  close to 30 years old. Most of pots are showing signs of wear.   The anodized interiors are worn off, and I have been very careful about cooking acidic food in them.  My pasta pot (pentola) is totally anodized free, I mean the interior is totally gone.  The only thing I have ever cooked in that pot has been macaroni, that is it, nothing else.  Also, I have never put salt into the water until it is boiling.  The older pieces have fared much better, I think that they were made far superior than ones that were made in the 90's.  We purchased them piece by piece when we could afford them, they were expensive but I will say that they were great.   The fry pans and small sauce pans are like brand new.  We have purchased some All Clad D5(Shiny), Copper-Core(Andrew loves these), Tri-ply, Cop-r-chef, and Mauviel.  When it comes to the copper, I agree that the heat distribution is fantastic, but I am a slacker when it comes to polishing them, but when I do, they look beautiful. 

The Split Pea Soups are done.....we did not eat them for dinner, we had just the ham and some left over risotto with peas.  It was good and filling.  Tomorrow we will have some soup and I'm thinking grilled cheese sandwich.  I think that is a great idea.

I took some pictures of the making of the soups.....and see how we solved the problem of having only one ham bone and two pots of soup, it was rather ingenious and no one was harmed in the making of the soup.  Most of all, I got to share a great Sunday......and that is always the best

No worries, we cleaned the saw, and it was a new blade that we scrubbed.  We wrapped the front of the saw with Saran Wrap, double ply plastic zippy, and the taped up the whole front of the saw.  Of course, I had to say that I had a good idea for wanting the bone saw!!!  Yellow peas are in Staub(black interior).   Green peas are in the Le Creuset(cream interior).